I wrote:
"I am in search of examples of applications that
have either migrated from the desktop to being web
based applications or (much rarer) the other way
around from web application to desktop. If you
have it, please send me the name of the
application and a link to its site. I'm
particularly interested in collecting before/after
shots of these kinds of apps. "
I received a number of replies, all of them very
helpful. Thank you everyone for taking a few
minutes to send me this information. Here is the
summary:
-------------------
Mitchell Gart pointed me at TurboTax, which now
has both a desktop and web based version. More
information on the two versions is available at:
http://turbotax.com/ts/products/all_products.html
Dave Heller mentioned Documentum, which has a web
based application that is based upon their
original desktop app. Their marketing materials
speak of the Desktop and the Webtop (!) access to
documentum repositories at:
http://www.documentum.com/products/content_applications/index.htm
Dave did a case study on the Documentum web
application and presented it at DUX2003:
http://aiga.org/resources/content/9/7/8/documents/heller.pdf
Jordan Francois mentioned Movable Type (MT); a
popular web application for publishing blogs.
http://www.movabletype.org/http://www.typepad.com/site/about/
Jordan writes: "This has created a market for GUI
desktop applications that aim to make using MT
easier. For example:"
http://www.zempt.com/
Jordan also pointed me to online photo printing
services, which sometimes also provide a
downloadable application for collecting and
uploading photos (and sometimes retouching as
well). For example:
http://www.bonusprint.co.uk/pages/download_pix.htm?OnpageA=2
I know that Mystic Photo Lab also once had a desktop
application, but it appears to have disappeared in
favor of their web application. Alas.
Matt Prather mentioned United Airlines, which used
to (8 years ago) have a self help passenger
booking system that worked via modem. Now, of
course, it's web based and he writes: "it doesn't
look as good, it doesn't work as well, and it's
much less usable, but it is accessible from any
Web browser, anywhere, any time."
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to locate this
app; if anyone knows of where I could find it, or
screen shots of it, I'd love to see them.
He also mentioned Lotus Organizer, which was a
Windows based application which was migrated to
Lotus Notes. He writes: "There is virtually no
resemblance between the two interfaces; it's
difficult to see how the two really relate to each
other, but Notes is the designated "heir apparent"
to Organizer. This would be an easier comparison
to see and note, as Organizer is still available
for purchase either in retail outlets or directly
from IBM/Lotus."
Matt Gregg tried Quickbooks online, and they also
have a desktop application.
http://quickbooks.intuit.com/
Beth Sheets writes: IBM/Rational tools such as
ClearCase, ClearQuest, and Rose have desktop and
web versions. There is a big difference in the way
they display and the way they function. You can
find out more about them at the IBM/Rational site,
http://www-306.ibm.com/software/rational/
Jonathan Wilkinson mentions that many schools are
moving from desktop versions of grading software
to web based, but unfortunately doesn't have any
specific examples. I did find ClassBuilder, which has
both a desktop and web application:
http://www.classbuilder.com/
And I found several web applications, but it's not
clear whether they have desktop versions as well:
http://www.gradebookwizard.com/https://www.trackmygrades.comhttp://www.thinkwave.com/http://www.pggp.com/index.shtml
Wendy Cown points me to Bloomberg, which has both
desktop and web applications for financial
information and ADP, which uses both for payroll
and other back office products/functions. Unfortunately,
I haven't been able to get access to the software
(in demo mode, or otherwise) to see screen shots.
http://about.bloomberg.com/software/index.html
Finally, Michael Tuminello points out that Google
has a desktop application (little more than a web
page accessible from the system tray). The Google
deskbar:
http://toolbar.google.com/deskbar/
Michael also points to Sherlock and Watson (on the
Mac), which are web applications presented as a
desktop application, and iTunes, which is a hybrid
of desktop and web application. For more
information visit:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/sherlock/http://www.apple.com/itunes/http://www.karelia.com/watson/
A few others I've found out about (some of these I haven't personally
verified):
www.gotomypc.com creates a windows desktop through a web browser
FedEx has a Windows desktop application that they
use for shipping and, of course their web
application as well via their web site:
http://www.fedex.com/ag/ebusiness/eshipping/world.html
Apple's .mac accounts provide access to Mail,
Bookmarks, and files using a web UI that is very
similar to their desktop applications.
The web app:
http://www.mac.com/1/iTour/index.htmlhttp://www.mac.com/1/iTour/tour_idisk.html
The desktop app:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/mail/
Thanks again,
--
Hagan Rivers
_____________________________________
Two Rivers Consulting Corporation
[log in to unmask]
www.tworivers.com
978.352.2585 voice
815.301.6724 fax
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